Tom Cruise to Receive the Friar Foundation's Entertainment Icon Award in June

The iconic actor is among only three other acting legends to receive the award in the club's 108 year history.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

April 3, 2012Mary Ellen Skawinski

What do legends Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Tom Cruise have in common? Other than being some of the entertainment industry's most beloved performers, they're the only four people to receive the Friars Foundation's highest honor, The Entertainment Icon Award.

It was announced on Tuesday that the Friars Foundation -- the charitable arm of the longstanding Friars Club -- will present the award to the 49-year-old actor at the Friars Foundation Gala on June 12th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Friars Club Abbot Jerry Lewis announced, "Tom Cruise will join an elite group of only 3 other entertainment legends who have received our Icon Award, and whose work has made a global impact on our industry and changed the very face of cinema."

The Foundation's Chairman, Ambassador Joseph Zappala added, "This will be an incredible night that will live forever in our club's history. We are so proud to be presenting this unique honor to Tom Cruise who humanitarian endeavors mirror his accomplishments in cinema and the arts."

The Friars Club was founded in 1904 as a haven for some of the industry's most noteworthy figures. Its charitable branch was created in an effort "to help small performing arts groups create innovative and affordable programs that will educate, entertain and enrich the lives of diverse audiences and participants." It also seeks to foster a future generation of performers and artists by granting a number of scholarships to students in the performing arts.